1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bipolar, lateral transistor, and to a method of making such transistors, and more particularly to a novel vertical-base transistor suitable for low-cost, high-speed, large-scale integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently, bipolar transistors in wide-spread commercial use have a vertical geometry. However, the well known lateral bipolar transistor is potentially attractive for many applications because the process steps to make a lateral bipolar transistor are relatively simple when compared to a vertical bipolar transistor. However, as compared to state of the art vertical bipolar transistors, prior art lateral bipolar transistor designs have a relatively low current gain, and a relatively slow operating speed due to parasitic capacitance and inherent thick-base width.